Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Back before last Thanksgiving, I posted a list of Preliminary Paladin Ability Changes in Mists of Pandaria based on the Official Talent Calculator preview. Well, said calculator was updated just today, so let's go back and look at the changes once again to see how things compare. The changes listed herein are in comparison to the current 4.3.2 live game, and many are simply copied over from my previous post on the matter with details unchanged or only slightly tweaked. Note that for the most part, I will not be taking changes to mana costs into consideration unless the change fundamentally affects the purpose or usage of ability (such as turning a cooldown-limited ability into a spammable mana-limited one) because these numbers appear to still be very much in flux.

Level 1:

Parry (Passive) was conspicuously absent in the previous update, but has now returned and is at level 1 rather than level 10.

Armor Skills (Passive) remains relatively unchanged. It just removes the reference to training, since classes will automatically learn abilities rather than having to train them.

Crusader Strike deals 100% weapon damage (down from 135%). The new version makes no mention of generating Holy Power, but this is likely an oversight considering the changes to Hammer of the Righteous.

Level 3:

Seal of Command: a new single-target damage-dealing seal. "Fills the Paladin with Holy Light, causing melee attacks to deal 9 additional Holy damage." Seal of Righteousness is being moved to level 42 and having the AoE component from the Seals of Command talent built in.

Holy Light is being changed to a level 33 Holy specialization ability.

Level 9:

Word of Glory appears to be having the base cooldown changed to 1.5 sec for all Paladins (down from 20 sec for Protection and Retribution, and up from the potential 1 sec minimum global cooldown for Holy Paladins).

Level 10:

(Holy) Holy Shock remains as-is, though the new calculator seems to imply it now has a full 40 yard range for hostile targets. Not sure if this is an intended change or oversight/tooltip limitation, but considering the change from the previous public talent iteration, it might be intentional.

(Retribution) Sword of Light (Passive) is renamed from Sheath of Light and some effects have been changed. It now increases spell power by an amount equal to 100% of your Strength (up from 30% of attack power), no longer increases your chance to hit with spells by 8%, but instead increases the damage you deal with two-handed melee weapons by 25% and grants 5% of maximum mana every 2 sec.

Redemption is being moved here from level 12, and is mostly unchanged from the 4.3 version which increases the range to 40 yards. There's also a fairly hefty mana cost increase to 75% base mana (up from 64%).

Level 14:

Flash of Light is being moved here from level 16, but is otherwise unchanged.

No mention is made of the summon mount abilities for Paladins. Not sure if they're being removed or just not mentioned in the new talent calculator.

(Holy) Holy Wrath is being moved here from level 28 and is now a Holy specialization ability. It only costs 9% of base mana (down from 20%), has no cooldown (down from 15 sec cooldown), takes 1.5 sec to cast (up from instant), and no longer stuns demons and undead, but instead "prevents targets from causing critical effects for the next 6 sec." Additionally, the ability is now centered on an enemy target rather than on the player, and has a 30 yard cast range.

(Protection) Hammer of the Righteous is moved here from the Protection tier 3 talent position. Damage reduced to 20% weapon damage (down from 30%). Additionally, it now also places a Weakened Blows effect on all affected targets, which reduces their physical damage dealt by 10% for 30 sec. Weakened Blows is likely a debuff applied by multiple classes (similar to the Replenishment buff).

Consecration is being changed to a Protection specialization ability at level 33.

Seal of Truth is being moved here from level 44. It now replaces Seal of Command (from level 3), and causes melee attacks (changed from single-target attacks) to deal 10% Holy weapon damage in addition to applying Censure.

Divine Protection is being moved here from level 30, and is having the Glyph of Divine Protection effect folded in. It now provides no physical damage reduction (down from base 20%) and instead provides 40% magical damage reduction (up from base 20%).

Level 28:

Holy Wrath is being changed to a level 20 Holy specialization ability.

(Holy) Judgements of the Pure (Passive) is being moved here from the Holy tier 1 talent position. It no longer increases haste, but retains the 4.3 function of increasing mana regeneration from Spirit. It now states "Your Judgement increases your mana regeneration from Spirit while in combat by 30% for 1 min".

(Protection) Judgements of the Wise (Passive) is being moved here from the level 10 Protection specialization. It no longer grants mana, but instead states "Your Judgement hits grant one charge of Holy Power".

(Retribution) Judgements of the Bold (Passive) is being moved here from the level 10 Retribution specialization. It no longer grants mana, but instead states "Your Judgement hits grant one charge of Holy Power and cause the Physical Vulnerability effect." Physical Vulnerability appears to be a new debuff which increases the physical damage taken by the target by 4% for 30 sec, and is likely a debuff applied by multiple classes (similar to the Weakened Blows debuff above and the current Replenishment buff).

(Holy) Holy Light is being moved here from level 7 and is now a Holy specialization ability with a 2.5 sec cast time (down from 3.0 sec).

(Protection) Consecration is being moved here from level 24 and is now a Protection specialization ability with a 9 sec cooldown (down from 30 sec).

(Retribution) Supplication (Passive) is a new passive class ability with an effect similar to the last part of Crusade. "For 15 sec after you kill an enemy that yields experience or honor, your next Flash of Light heals for an additional 300%".

Level 34:

Cleanse now removes all Poison and Disease effects (up from 1 of each).

(Holy) Sacred Cleansing (Passive) is being moved here from the Holy tier 4 talent position. It no longer mentions the 1 Magic effect limit so it likely dispels all Magic effects.

(Retribution) Divine Storm is being moved here from the Retribution tier 3 talent and is changed into an AoE version of Templar's Verdict. It now requires 3 Holy Power to use rather than 5% base mana, no longer generates Holy Power, no longer heals allies, and has no cooldown (down from 4.5 sec). It now states "An area attack that consumes 3 charges of Holy Power to cause 50% weapon damage to all enemies within 8 yards".

(Protection) Shield of the Righteous is being moved here from the Protection tier 4 talent position and now requires 3 Holy Power to cast and has a 1.5 sec cooldown. In addition to dealing damage it causes the next melee attack against you to be blocked and increases the amount your shield blocks by an additional 25% for 6 sec.

(Retribution) Hammer of Wrath is being moved here from level 46 and is becoming a Retribution specialization ability. Additionally, it will generate a charge of Holy Power when used, but can only be used on targets with 20% or less health or during Avenging Wrath.

(Holy) Divine Plea is being moved here from level 44 and is now a Holy specialization ability, but is otherwise unchanged.

(Retribution) Exorcism is being moved here from level 18 and is now a Retribution specialization ability. It no longer costs mana, and instead generates a charge of Holy Power and is instant cast (down from 1.5 sec), but has a 20 sec cooldown (up from no cooldown).

(Holy) Infusion of Light (Passive) is being moved here from the Holy tier 3 talent and no longer increases Holy Shock critical effect chance, but retains the 4.3 change which includes the option to reduce the cast time of Holy Radiance.

(Holy) Devotion Aura is effectively the Holy specialization ability designed to replace the Holy tier 5 talent Aura Mastery and its combinations with Concentration Aura and Resistance Aura, and has no real relation to the current Devotion Aura other than reusing the name. It is an instant cast, 2 min cooldown ability which states "Inspire all party and raid members within 40 yards, granting them immunity to Silence and Interrupt effects and reducing all Fire, Frost, and Shadow damage taken by 20%. Lasts 6 sec."

(Protection) Sanctuary (Passive) is a Protection specialization passive ability that combines the 10% increased armor value from items effect of the Protection tier 2 talent Toughness with the 10% damage reduction effect of the Protection tier 3 talent Sanctuary. It no longer decreases your chance to be critically hit (this effect has been moved to the Guarded by the Light passive at level 10) or restores mana on blocks or dodges.

Crusader Aura is being removed and replaced by Heart of the Crusader at level 44.

Divine Light is being changed to a Holy specialization ability at level 56.

Level 64:

Seal of Justice is being changed to a Retribution specialization ability at level 70.

(Holy) Tower of Radiance (Passive) is being moved here from the Holy tier 6 talent, and no longer generates a charge of Holy Power whenever Holy Radiance is cast (this effect has been built into Holy Radiance instead).

(Holy) Light of Dawn is being moved here from the Holy tier 7 talent position and is unchanged from the 4.3 iteration.

(Protection) Ardent Defender is being moved here from the Protection tier 7 talent position and is otherwise unchanged.

(Retribution) Seal of Justice is being moved here from level 64 and is now a Retribution specialization ability. Now properly slows instead of capping movement speed, and states "Fills the Paladin with Holy Light, causing melee attacks to deal 4 additional Holy damage and reduce the target's movement speed by 50% for 5 sec." It's unclear how this might work with the level 30 talent Burden of Guilt, which causes Judgement to reduce the target's movement speed by 50% for 12 sec.

Blessing of Might moved here from level 56. No longer increases attack power and mana regeneration, but instead increases mastery by 5.

(Retribution) Inquisition is being changed to a Retribution specialization ability and as the latter portion of Inquiry of Faith partially baked in so it lasts for 10 sec per charge of Holy Power (up from 4 sec per charge without Inquiry of Faith, but down from 12 sec per charge with Inquiry of Faith).

Level 83:

(Holy) Holy Radiance is being changed to a Holy specialization ability and is being changed to have a 2.5 sec cast (down from 3 sec) and generate a charge of Holy Power innately (rather than requiring Tower of Radiance).

Level 85:

Boundless Conviction (Passive) acts as a new buffer zone for extra Holy Power to prevent it from being wasted. It reads, "You may store an additional 2 Holy Power beyond the maximum of 3. No ability ever consumes more than 3 Holy Power."

Blinding Light: a new short-duration crowd control ability that costs 23% of base mana and is instant cast with a 3 min cooldown. "Emits a dazzling light in all directions, blinding enemies within 10 yards, causing them to wander disoriented for 6 sec."